Family Y asks members to be patient in wake of fire

Repair of the damage from a recent fire is going to take longer than originally thought, says Assistant Executive Director Kriquette Davis.

"We wanted to try to open the general locker rooms next Friday, but we can't," she said. "We found there's more damage than we anticipated. It's going to cost over $1 million. That's a ballpark figure."

The fire, which started in the men's sauna Oct. 14, was contained, but it affected several other areas of the Y, like the track around the top of the gymnasium.

Ms. Davis said the track is still structurally safe, but the heat radiated from the men's fitness center bent some bars there.

"From the doors to the locker rooms all the ceiling has to come out," said Ms. Davis. "There were no fire breaks, and it ran through the ceiling all the way to the fire wall before stopping. It ran the length of all four locker rooms."

The Y has men's and women's general lockers and men's and women's lockers in the fitness center, too. The fire was in the men's fitness center.

That is the area of the Y that will take the longest to repair. The general locker rooms will be the first to open, followed by those in the women's fitness center.

"The contractors have been great," said Ms. Davis. "Everybody dropped what they were doing to come help."

She said the carpet and the flooring will have to be replaced because of smoke damage from where the fire ran though the duct work